The species is « rather small, spindle-shaped, thick, with an acute apex and armed with short thorns on the shoulders; spire composed of seven swollen, furrowed whorls irregularly striated crosswise, with seven almost angled and scabrous longitudinal ribs. The aperture is ovate, and the interior of the right side shows some little tubercles; the tail is short, and barely umbilicate; its canal is closed at the base; the colour is dark chestnut tending to reddish. » – A. Aradas & L. Benoit: “Conchigliologia vivente marina della Sicilia”, Atti dell’Accademia Gioenia di Scienze Naturali ser. III vol. VI, Catania 1870, p.272. – 1m deep, under stone, on sand, Kerkennah islands, Gulf of Gabes, S. Tunisia. 12mm.

Spire-height, colour and pattern are very variable. Above and below: white adult (the area produces many pale shells) from 1m deep, Sidi Youssef, western end of Gharbi, Kerkennah islands. 14,3mm.

« The swarthy Murex. Shell fusiformly ovate, longitudinally tuberculously ribbed, transversely elevately striated; three-varicose, varices eminent, prickly nodose; dark brown, indistinctly banded, interior of the aperture tinged with purple; lip toothed within; canal short. » – L. A. Reeve: Conchologia Iconica vol. III, London 1845, plate XXXII and text 162.

The shell of this variant differs from that of usual baetica by its winged extensions. – Above and below: 1m deep, Sidi Fredj, western coast of Chergui, Kerkennah islands. 15mm.

This is the only mediterranean member of the genus to bear such a stellate radial sculpture. Notice the well marked subsutural ramp. – Specimen slightly subadult.

Primary and secondary spiral cords crossed by ten radial folds separated from each other by numerous tiny micro-radials. On each whorl, the intersections between the adapical primary spiral and the radial folds project the most spiny extensions.

It has been shown that Ocenebra carmelae (Cecalupo, Buzzurro & Mariani, 2008) was a dark morphotype of baetica “piantonii” (cf. Barco & al., 2013). Same spot. 10,3mm. Original pictures provided by A. Nappo (IT) – (CC BY-NC-SA).